Does standing dead dry faster then live cut wood?

[efoyt]

Just cut and split a standing dead red maple. It has been dead for at least two years. Will this dry quicker then a live tree cut and split at the same time? Also did the same with a red oak. No idea how long it was dead but it had fallen over...it was compleatly off the ground. Bit punky at the base very dry at the top. So will these trees dry quicker then a live tree cut at the same time?

Thanks,

 

[BigCountryNY]

Standing dead trees when cut and split don't necessarily dry faster than a green tree in terms of rate of drying, but it's more the point that it's already drier when you fell it and thus it will be ready sooner than a green tree that was cut and split at the same time.

 

[Woody Stover]

it's already drier when you fell it and thus it will be ready sooner than a green tree that was cut and split at the same time.

Yep. Heck, that soft Maple might even burn decent this winter, if he needed it, depending... Same thing with Oak. I got a Black that was standing dead and fell into a field. I quartered it and it sat for a couple years. I split it the rest of the way and stacked it this spring. I grabbed one split the other day, and it read about 25%. Not sure if that was from the trunk or the drier branches further up, but there was no bark on it so it wasn't from a real small branch. The other wild card is that I don't know how long it was dead before it fell...

 

[billb3]

Given that they are already almost there, yeah.

 

[Sconnie Burner]

They should dry out reasonably faster in the fact that the cell structure is already broken down allowing the moisture to escape easier/faster. I have cut a ton of dead standing red oak, the barkless limbs when split are dry and useable by late fall when cut early spring in my drying conditions. I have found the main trunk up to the second forks takes 2 summers to dry to under 20%.

 

[ccmac]

I have several hundred "two ringed" trees, these rings were cut into the base of the trees approx. 5 years ago as a management tool for the woods on our property. So I now have hundreds of standing dead timber, many do not have any bark on them anymore. These are the ones I like, without a doubt they are dryer. The stuff that has fallen down can be good still but most often not. Still need split and stacked but not as long.

 

[Dix]

How does it sound when you bang 2 splits together?

If it sounds like a baseball bat, you're ahead of the game, usually.

 

[Woody Stover]

The stuff that has fallen down can be good still but most often not.

What specie are the ringed tree? Certain types hold up pretty well even if they are down. I've found Black Cherry that had fallen and trunk was in full contact with the ground. The sapwood was rotted off but the heartwood was still good. If Oak is held off the ground by branches, heartwood will hold up pretty long. White Ash will hold up a while if elevated. Mulberry doesn't do too bad, either.

How does it sound when you bang 2 splits together? If it sounds like a baseball bat, you're ahead of the game, usually.

I've found that to be hit-and-miss. I just got back from a neighbor's. He was splitting some soaking wet Red Oak, and some of it sounded pretty good when banged together. When you do that test and the splits "ring like a bell," that's usually a good sign though. Other stuff I've tried didn't sound good but tested dry...

 

[Rebelduckman]

I cut green maple a couple months ago and expect to burn it this fall/winter. I can get it dry down here in less than 6 months. It's a lot hotter here though so don't know how it'll do up there

 

[ccmac]

The two ringed stuff was all sorts of species, oak, maple, beech, locust, popular, cherry, hickory, etc.... Probably have about every tree that is typical for South-western Indiana.

 

[Fred Wright]

The thing with a standing dead tree, moisture continues to wick up the stem. Red oak is notorious for this, it will go punky from the outside in before it dries.

Red maple, you want to get it split and stacked within a few months after it dies or falls. Soft maple deteriorates quickly. I passed up several large red maple tops this year that had been blown out less than a year previous. It was already too punky to be worth the time and effort.